A lot has happened since Dec. 12, 2015, when the Paris Agreement was adopted by consensus of the 195 countries present at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21)--and more than what might have been expected. For starters, the agreement smoothly slid into force on Nov. 4, in record time for a document of this significance. This is a clear indication by governments to business and the financial markets that a low-carbon future is firmly on the agenda.

Over the past year, the green bond market, a bellwether for climate finance, has grown at an impressive rate. Plus the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), launched on Dec. 4, 2015, is on target to deliver its recommendations to the Financial Stability Board (FSB) on Nov. 17 and a 60-day public consultation will commence in early December. Furthermore, at this year's UN climate change summit (COP22) starting in Marrakech this week, we expect participants to flesh out a roadmap for further scaling up climate finance. However, in the area of green infrastructure investment in particular, S&P Global Ratings believes there's still much to be done to meet the Paris Agreement's targets.